手前

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
手	前
て Grade: 1	まえ Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Compound of (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old Japanese elements 手 (te, “hand”) +‎ 前 (mae, “front”), originally meaning “that which is just in front of one's hand”.

Noun

手(て)前(まえ) • (temae) ^{←てまへ (temafe)?}

1. position that is just in front or before; in the nearer position

   あの店(みせ)は交(こう)差(さ)点(てん)の手(て)前(まえ)にある。

   Ano mise wa kōsaten no temae ni aru.

   That store is just in front of / just before the intersection.

Pronoun

手(て)前(まえ) or 手前(pronoun) • (temae or pronoun) ^{←てまへ (temafe)?}[[Category:Japanese
|てまえ]]

1. (vulgar, male) you, you son of a bitch

Usage notes

More commonly pronounced as and written in hiragana as てめえ (temē).

Antonyms

• (distant): 奥(おく) (oku)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
手	前
て Grade: 1	まえ > めえ Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Alteration of temae. The vowel shift emphasizes the confrontational sense of the term. Compare おめえ (omē, from お前 (omae)), ねえ (nē, from ない), やべえ (yabē, from やばい (yabai)).

Alternative forms

• てめぇ, てめぇー, てめェー

Pronoun

手(て)前(めえ) or 手前(pronoun) • (temē or pronoun) [[Category:Japanese
|てめえ]]

1. (vulgar, male) you, you son of a bitch

   手(て)前(めえ)は殺(ころ)してやる！

   Temē wa koroshite yaru!

   I'm gonna kill you, you son of a bitch!

Usage notes

This is one of the ruder, more confrontational Japanese terms for you. Rough, often used in anger. Often pronounced and written as てめえ (temē).

References

• 2000, Jonathan Bunt, Gillian Hall, The Oxford Starter Japanese Dictionary, First Edition, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN